Cemex Enters New Terrain With Bid for Rinker

Australia's Rinker
Is Expected to Reject
Cemex's Bid Monday

By

John Lyons

Updated Oct. 29, 2006 6:51 a.m. ET

Cemex SAB's unsolicited $11.7 billion offer for Australia's Rinker Group Ltd. -- a major seller of construction materials in the U.S. -- is uncharted territory, even considering the Mexican cement maker's growing penchant for big deals.

The all-cash offer is twice as big as Cemex's prior biggest deal, last year's $5.8 billion purchase of Britain's RMC -- a move that made Cemex the world's biggest seller of ready-mix concrete. It's...